I think that while they are unavoidable, cell phones can have some negative impact on social issues of privacy. Modern phones can be used to videotape anything and everything. While there can be a greater sense of transparency, if used by individuals with malicious intent, it can be used in a harmful manner to others' privacy.

Oh, where to begin. Cell phones in the classroom, in church, in theaters, in restaurants, in check-out lines, and even in funeral services. Students try to text under their desk tops and in the front pockets of their sweatshirts--surely not conducive to education. Shoppers carry on the most personal conversations, loudly, in check-out lines and other public places. (Too much information!) Movies, church services, and even funeral prayers are interrupted by ring tones. The careless, rude, and selfish use of cell phones has acted to degrade standards of social behavior and basic respect for other people. The cry of "Sorry. I forgot to turn off my phone" rings throughout the land. (Pun intended!)

Every useful things has some negative aspects also. Plus same features of a device may be used in a helpful way or a destructive way. Cellphones is no exception to these general rules, But on the whole the plus points far outweigh the negative ones, So the Cellphones is hear to stay. However in line with the discussion topic, I am listing below some of the negative points of cellphones.

It is believed that electromagnetic radiations used in cellphones is harmful to health.

Use of cell phones while doing some other work causes distraction and can lead to poor work and accidents. Use of cellphones while driving is only one instance of such distraction. Unfortunately, one cellphone services provider in India, in its quest for higher revenues, is currently advertising heavily encourage people to talk on cell phone while walking - this includes walking on streets.

Use of cell phone in presence of others causes disturbance to them.

There are times when people need to relax completely without even possibility of someone disturbing. Cellphones impinge heavily on such privacy.

As discussed in previous posts the video recording facilities of cellphones can be misused very easily.

I'll add this seemingly minor issue: with the texting application, most people who text have become much less likely to spell correctly. I see those abbreviations in my students' writing and when I say something about it, they give this, "What?" reaction as if nothing at all was amiss. Those who text all the time run the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

There is no doubt that the modern use of technological devices such as cellphones impact society. Cell phones and texting promote almost immediate responses. One rarely ponders longer than it takes them to type in a response. Imagine if you will a man and a woman having a disagreement. In days of old, when letters might have been written, time could be taken to write and rewrite before the letter was even sent off. This meant that the argument had the potential to be more rational and less emotion driven. Thus decreasing the likelihood that the person would accidentally say something he or she could not take back. In today’s world of instant messaging and texting, this is not guaranteed. The likelihood that one will say the first hateful and harmful thing that comes to mind is huge.

Cell phones also make it impossible for users to read body language or tone of voice. This makes clear lines of communication more difficult.

Cell phones have also opend a wider door on academic dishonesty as students could text answers to one another or take pictures of the studied texts.

Cell phones are inherently engaging to young people but contribute to a lack of interpersonal interaction with their family members. How many times does a parent try to have a talk with a teenager only to be ignored in favor of the more interesting text messages awaiting?

I have even had dinner watching a family with a teen sitting at the dinner table texting throughout the meal. Granted, it was at a restaurant, but this behavior is still disturbingly rude to me. It was almost as though the phone was an electronic babysitter of sorts relieving the parents of having to talk to their daughter.

In response to post # 7. If young children do not have the right table manners, or they are not as much interested in talking to grown ups as some people would like, why blame the cell phone? I would personally be less inclined to to interact more with any person, if that person demands such interaction as a matter of right, rather than try and make him/herself more interesting and understanding.

I believe all people. including the young children have the right not to be disturbed when they are communicating with their friends - at least not all the time. My observation is that grown up people as well as young children speak on cell phones in presence of others. In good old days when there were only fixed line telephones, no one considered it bad manners when an adult dining in a restaurant attended to a call for him her received on the telephone installed in a restaurant. Why should we pick on children for engaging in similar behavior.

While convenient and a wonderful thing to have in an emergency, cell phones are beginning to take the place of human face-to-face interaction, especially among teenagers. I've seen the occasional comic showing two people out to dinner, both speaking on their cell phones or texting instead of interacting with the person they are with. The sad thing is that this is true and happens in real life.

Besides the loss of social interaction the cell phone has invaded our peace. Listen on a bus or train, even a library, and you will hear one person's end of a conversation, which is far more annoying than having to listen to both ends. Cell phones can ring during a play, leaving the actor distracted and annoyed.

Annoyances aside, cell phone use while driving can be deadly. Some people even text while driving, unbelievably.

To me, one of the biggest problems with cell phones is accessability. Let's call a spade a spade here and realize that cell phones are no longer simply cell phones. They are computers that allow access to everything form e-mail to the world wide web, etc. While this is very convenient, it poses a problem for personal time. Prior to cell phones and the internet, work was more likely to stay at work simply because of one's accessability to their work. Perhaps I'm being nestalgic, but it seems like life of the typical "business man" was allowed much more time that was truly "away" from work and free to spend time with family and friends. With modern access, no one is ever truly seperate from their work and no one is ever "out of reach." If one was not at home, they were unreachable. I'm arguing that sometimes this is a positive thing. With modern access to technology (which can all be accessed via cell phone) no one can ever be truly alone anymore.

Cell phones are very attractive for those persons on the go who need to be available for business. I have found that they are way overpriced. At times I wonder if the "need" for a cell phone is more of a status symbol than a true need. The office has a phone (land-line) that can be used. But, it can be monitored. If I am away, I turn it off and don't answer it if it is work. I am not paid to respond to work related calls after hours, so I don't. I do take the cell-phone bill off of my taxes, but the deduction doesn't sufficiently cover the bill. Needless to say, I use the cell phone to communicate with work mates while at work. After hours, it is my "personal" phone. When my work pays the bill and compensates me for the additional "responsiblities" of being accessible via cell phone after work hours, then I will answer it.